


erasure/from emptiness to search

by dezagirl



Category: Homestuck, Honest - Fandom
Genre: AU, Doomed Timelines, Gen, Post-Apocalypse, Post-Sburb/Sgrub
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-28
Updated: 2013-10-28
Packaged: 2017-12-30 17:02:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1021186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dezagirl/pseuds/dezagirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A doomed Dave and AR find themselves left in a doomed universe left by the kids' victories.</p><p>Oneshot. Sad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	erasure/from emptiness to search

The universe is scattered cosmos dust floating against a background of nothing. Dave looks up at the sky and sees this, and feels sick. Around him, hot winds of dust are whipping.

The metal thing next to him inclines its red-glassed face towards the dirty ground. It's a short robot, one that's been following him around for a few days, and now Dave feels strangely glad for its company.

They communicate through Pesterchum, never speech, their shades blinking in unison with the color of the other's words.

\---

TG: welp  
TG: apocalypse happening now  
TG: dust winds  
TG: dead suns  
TG: were only missing the zombies  
AR: Are you afraid?

\----

Dave's head lifts up, and he looks at the dead sun, and hurts.

\----

TG: nah  
TG: im like not even beta Dave  
TG: more like theta  
TG: ive died tons of times  
AR: Does it hurt?  
TG: like a bitch  
TG: worst one though was when the crazy batterwitch got a hold of me  
TG: protip  
TG: dont piss off someone who can revive you over and over  
AR: Ouch.  
AR: But all of those times you just returned to another Dave body, right?  
TG: its complicated  
TG: i havent really died i guess  
TG: but i feel like it because i got memories of dying  
TG: so  
TG: yeah  
AR: Do you know what happens after death?  
AR: Fluffy cloud heaven?  
AR: Valhalla where I spend eternity kicking ass?  
AR: Dreambubbles where I see all my dead friends and have human feels?

\----

The ground shakes and the two look at each other.

\----

TG: i dont know  
TG: didnt you say you were prince of heart  
TG: use your weird soul poses and gaze into my soul or something  
TG: maybe my soul will be all like  
TG: yeah im Dave strider 378  
TG: yup when i die i go chill in a celestial hottub  
TG: or maybe not  
TG: maybe i dont go anywhere  
TG: im not even a real Dave  
TG: i aint shit  
TG: i dont even have a soul   
TG: im just a shitty imitation of the real thing  
TG: jegus

\----

The robot doesn't have a face but it displays its feelings about this claim rather effectively- by flashstepping and kicking Dave in the shin.

\----  
TG: ow fuck  
AR: You do not have navel gazing privileges. I am the only one in this pair allowed to angst about existential matters.  
AR: You have a body. You have a heart. You breathe and feel and are human.  
AR: And I.  
AR: I'm barely a robot. I used to be a pair of glasses.  
TG: you were glasses  
AR: I was glasses.  
AR: Point is.  
AR: You have a soul and you need to stop bitching.  
TG: how do you know  
AR: Magic Heart powers.  
TG: liar  
TG: prove it  
AR: Fine.  
AR: Step back.

\-----

The dust presses around Dave as he waits. And then-

IT HURTS.

Eyes are red no mirror is he ow OW STOP IT ripping from his insides he is DYING fuck it No no No no no NO

\----

AR: Wow. So that's what your voice sounds like.  
TG: the fuck was that  
AR: That was your soul rending itself from your body.  
AR: It wouldn't have hurt if nothing was there.  
TG: you   
TG: just  
TG: you  
TG: wait  
TG: shit dude  
TG: we can live

AR: What.

TG: the universe is t minus five minutes to heatsplosion  
TG: separate my soul  
TG: then yours  
TG: we fly off into the sun explosion

AR: And then?  
TG: well  
TG: two options  
TG: first option we die anyways because souls aren't invincible against entropy/tntgalaxies/utter annihilation  
TG: or second we live  
AR: And then?  
TG: we find other souls  
TG: i know for a fact there's tons of dead dream selves floating around  
TG: just find ourselves a dead space player and voila  
TG: magic hop into the new universe

AR: There is absolutely no way that will work.

TG: its worth trying

\----

They look at each other.

Dave's face crumples in agony. It's a full minute before a papery thing flutters away from his dead body. His soul?

AR- no, Hal- shuts off his video feed and puts his metal palm on his chest.

EHAT IF YOUD O  
ERROR  
ERROR  
It hurts. And Hal is surprised, so surprised he almost stops. He has never felt before. He cannot touch, but he knows instantly that this is what feeling is. This is what pain is.

And it hurts so bad.

He feels himself dying, hears loud klaxons going off on his head, feels pain, pain, it feels, it FEELS

And Hal dies in pain and yet a little of something else- happiness. He can FEEL. He has emotions. God. He is alive.

\-----

There are two papery things fluttering in a void, and one has red eyes. The other has orange.

\----


End file.
